Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has assured fans that he is ‘doing fine’ following a non-emergency medical procedure at a hospital in Rome.
The 86-year-old director, best known for cinematic masterpieces such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, took to Instagram on Tuesday to quell concerns after media reports surfaced about his hospitalisation.
“Da Dada (what my kids call me) is fine, taking an opportunity while in Rome to do the update of my 30 year old afib procedure with its inventor, a great Italian doctor - Dr. Andrea Natale! I am well,” Coppola wrote in his Instagram post.
The filmmaker’s US-based representative told American media outlets that the procedure was not the result of any emergency and had been scheduled in advance. “Mr. Coppola went in for a scheduled update procedure with acclaimed Dr. Andrea Natale, his doctor of over 30 years, and is resting nicely,” the representative said. “All is well.”
The representative also dismissed a report by Italian news site repubblica.it, which claimed Coppola had suffered from atrial fibrillation prior to the operation, as “not true”.
Coppola was admitted on Tuesday to Policlinico Tor Vergata, a public hospital in the Italian capital, according to Italian news agency ANSA. His representative said the director “went to the hospital in a car” reiterating that there was “not an emergency.”
Coppola, who has Italian roots, was in Rome to promote his latest film Megalopolis, a science fiction epic that premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2024. The film tells the story of a visionary architect aiming to rebuild a futuristic version of New York City as a utopia.